Good morning from the #hamr shackadelic zone where weather conditions are expected to reach sunny clear skies with a temperature peaking in the low 70s by this afternoon. Currently, my TS850S is connected to the Buddipole off center fed dipole and tuned to the 10m wavelength, as space weather conditions continue to settle after a significant uptick in sunspots through the holidays.
This is the time of season when DXing begins to peak and my favorite source for content related to DX is
DX World created by Col, MM0NDX.
He was an early adopter of Web 2.0 when social media giants like Facebook and Twitter established their game changing communication channels. I consider
DX World as the leading edge in DX content delivery as Col created his mothership website to include distribution channels on Facebook and Twitter.
His website is an excellent source to discover who is planning a DXpedition with links to associated websites, QSL information, videos, a chat room, and thought provoking commentary.
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| Screenshot Credit Twitter |
Col and his team of volunteer contributors understand today's media and concurrent social interaction. His content distribution channels are Twitter with 3,575 followers and 1,021 Facebook likes.
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| Screenshot Credit Facebook |
MM0NDX is a passionate DXer and we connected earlier in the month to discuss current issues relative to DXing and DXpeditions. Col agreed to an interview and I want to thank him for taking time away from his busy schedule to answer the following questions.
Was there a particular moment, event, or person who lead you into ham radio?
Aged 13 years old, my father, GM1RIG introduced me to ham radio. He wasn't active back then (or now) but he let me listen to an old ex-military receiver and I soon became hooked.
Can you tell us about the early days for example your first wireless set, antenna system, and stand-out DX in the log?
I listened to the airwaves using an R210 military receiver. It weighed a tonne and only covered 80-20m. I used a 50 foot long wire. I lost all my paper logs from that era, but do remember exotic DX stations being logged. Actually, I don't think conditions have been as good since then, circa 1989/1990.
Share with us what aspects of the hobby are most relevant today in contrast to your first years in ham radio?
Tough questions, let's just say the Internet has revolutionised ham radio compared to my first years when even logging programs were rare.
What sparked DX World?
In 2007 I started a small blog called
hamspirt.wordpress.com and it was just a fun thing to do back then; collecting dx snippets, blogging about dx, posting dx related images. It soon grew and became quite popular.
In 2009, I changed the name to dx-hamspirit.com while this continued along the same theme, but soon it was "breaking dx news", and it became quite clear this was a new source for DXers to follow. In early 2010,
DX World.net was born and the site layout was constructed by SQ8X with everything on site updated by me.
That is still the case today, however, like most things in life, I can exclusively reveal to you that an overhaul of the site will occur in the near future.
Can you tell us about the global reach of DX World such as audience, page views, and the transition to your new platform?
During the month of December, the site received 105,630 visits, with almost a quarter of a million page views.
Is DX World the work of one individual or is their a team involved in producing DX content for the web?
All content is done by me, same with the news updates. Max IK8LOV is my trusty lieutenant and helps me a lot with behind the scenes stuff.
Share with us a few details about recent IOTA trip?
I had to cancel the trip at the very last minute due to more important family matters. I can also reveal to you that I'll be part of an expedition later this year going to a SE Asia DXCC entity. I can't give anymore details at the moment until the license is secured.
Everyone has a favorite niche in the hobby for example mine is propagation, RadioSport, and DXing, tell us about yours?
DXing and SWLing.
Share with us your strategic vision for DX World?
To continue being a global leader in breaking and publishing Dx news free of charge. I have always been opposed to adverts on site, however I have a very good idea in using adverts to help fund future Dxpeditions. All will be announced very soon and I hope readers will agree with my thought process.
What is your vision for ham radio in 2020?
To see all the rare (Top 10) entities be activated. To see P5 North Korea a regular country on the air. For DX World to continue and flourish!
Thanks for taking the time to interview me, Scot, and hope I answered all of your questions.
